


Danger Days: The True Lives of the Not-So-Fabulous Runaways

by caughtindeadlights



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), Runaways (Comics), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Based on a mcr album, Better Living Industries, Comic Book Spoilers, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Drama, Family Issues, I don't know how to tag this, Killjoy AU, Killjoys with superpowers, Little bit of Fluff, Lots of Angst, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, References to Canon, Runaways (TV 2017) Spoilers, Running Away, Superpowers, Swearing, Team as Family, Zones Culture and Customs (Fabulous Killjoys), kinda dialogue heavy, minor tv show spoilers, tv show and comic elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23604445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caughtindeadlights/pseuds/caughtindeadlights
Summary: The story of how the Runaways came to be reimagined in a different universe. The events of this fic take place right after the SING music video by My Chemical Romance. Some comic book characters and comic book arcs appear in the story.
Relationships: Chase Stein/Gertrude Yorkes, Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru, Molly Hayes | Molly Hernandez/Klara Prast
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Get the Gang Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to write something different for a change! I’ve actually been meaning to release the first chapter of this fic since December 2019. Runaways have a special place in my heart as well as the universe of Danger Days and the Killjoys. That’s why I’ve decided to write them in one universe to honor them both. I tried to do some justice writing this chapter by adding the seedlings to Deanoru and Gertchase. Hopefully, it’s not too bad. By the way, I recommend listening to Get the Gang Together by Gerard Way as you’re reading this chapter. The chapter title was named after that song. :)

_Breaking news! This just in. We just got a report that the infamous group of killjoys known as Party Poison, Fun Ghoul, Kobra Kid, and Jet Star are dead. They have finally been caught in a tragic accident that cost them their lives._

These were the words that came from the tv Molly Hernandez was watching from in the Yorkes’ living room. She was stunned at the news report. Her heroes were found _dead._ Molly couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It could be false, right? Sometimes you can't always trust the news. But Molly was proven wrong when the footage was shown of the four beloved heroes she looked up to were on the ground dead. She had enough when the news channel decided to give a closer look at the bodies. Molly tore her eyes away from the tv and closed her eyes. She wished those images displayed on the tv out of her mind. It was until her sister, Gert, that interrupted her from her breakdown.

“Molly?” Gert walked in the living room in search of the 16-year-old. When Gert saw what was displayed on the television screen, she frantically reached for the remote to turn it off. 

The purple-haired girl kneeled by Molly’s side and asked her sister in a worried tone, “why were you watching that? You know you shouldn’t be watching stuff like that on tv, Mols.”

Molly didn’t realize tears had spilled from her eyes when she opened them to look at Gert. “T-they’re dead, Gert. The Fab Four a-are dead.”

It had dawned on to Gert the graphic images they were broadcasting on the television screen were the cause of Molly’s breakdown. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mols.” Gert moved to hug her sister.

“Who could have done such a thing? I thought they were invincible?” Molly sniffled.

“Mols, no one is invincible. Everyone has a weakness.” Gert pushed a strand of Molly’s hair behind her ear.

“The Killjoys had a weakness? Well, how come they survived in the zones for such a long time?” Molly didn’t fully believe in what Gert had to say.

“Look, I think we should continue this conversation later,” Gert said, changing the subject. “We need to go with mom and dad to the monthly Pride meeting later.”

“Wait, what?! Why are we going with them this time?” Molly whined. She started to sulk on the couch.

“I don’t know, but it must be important,” Gert got up to start packing her backpack. “You don’t want any Dracs to come here looking for you, right?”

“Why would they come over here when we’re not the enemy?” Molly questioned.

“Mols,” Gert said in a warned tone. “Just get ready. _Please_.”

Molly sighed exasperatedly and marched to her bedroom to get ready. “Fine!”

“Don’t forget to take your meds! It’ll calm you down!” Gert yelled. Molly closed her bedroom door in reply.

Molly clenched her fists and screamed into her pillow. She knew the Fab Four didn’t die in vain. Molly refused to think that way. There had to be someone that was behind it. And she will figure it out for herself. If she doesn't, she won’t ever forgive herself for not doing so. Thinking back to the last thing Gert told her, Molly looked at the pills that were placed on her vanity.

“Screw it. I’m done with this.” She said out loud. Grabbing the pill container, she threw it in the trash in disgust. Molly didn’t spare a second glance at her trash bin while getting ready for the meeting.

* * *

Molly and Gert were sitting in one of the lounges in the Wilder house. They were waiting for the other teens to come by. Gert had to agree with how the monthly Pride meeting was boring. Like the kind that bored you to death.

“So you do agree with me?!” Molly exclaimed. “Why couldn’t you tell Stacey we should’ve passed the meeting?”

“They’re our parents, Mols. We need to listen to them.”

“They’re _your_ parents, Gert. Not mine.” Molly retorted with a scowl.

“Look, I know you’re still torn from this morning’s news,” Gert said with a sigh. “But just for tonight, try to be on your best behavior. If you’re comfortable, you can talk more about this morning if you like.”

“I’m good. You wouldn’t understand anyway.” Molly twisted her body, facing away from the purple haired girl. Gert can’t help but feel bad.

She hated to admit it, but she knew very little about the Killjoys. Gert only knew of the things that were broadcasted on the holos and television. She tried her best to sympathize with Molly, but it felt kind of strange to do so. These Killjoys were strangers to her. Could she be able to trust them at all? And at the same time, there were other things that were more important to care about. Like what college she was going to attend. There were very few varieties in Battery City. But before she could go over the pros and cons of each college, she heard loud chatter coming from the lobby.

Gert decided to get up and make her way to the lobby of the Wilders’ home. When she stopped at the balcony, she saw none other than Chase Stein with his parents. Chase was all smiles and hugged Alex’s parents. Seeing Chase in the flesh reminded of the many years she had been pining over the jock.

She was tempted to go greet him, but Karolina and her mom appeared. Chase’s smile that he had on became extremely big when he saw the blonde. 

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Wilder! I made some appetizers for the adults to enjoy!” Karolina made a little gesture towards the container in her hands.

Alex’s parents were impressed by Karolina’s effort.

Honestly, Gert didn’t like girls who were like Karolina. They were WAY too perfect for her liking. Gert knew no one was perfect, but Chase has somehow fit into that definition of it. And guys like Chase were drawn to girls like Karolina. And not Gert. He never spared a glance at her when they were kids compared to Karolina. The purple haired girl walked back to the lounge, feeling her mood shift to be much shittier than before.

“Gert!” Karolina called out behind her. “It’s so nice to finally see you here after all this time! Come here!”

As soon as she turned to face Karolina, Gert was greeted with the blonde gently wrapping her arms around the purple haired girl. Gert was weirded out by the sudden hug. Why would Karolina be so glad to see her? They were polar opposites of each other.

Gert slowly retracted from the hug and mustered up a smile. “Uh yeah! It’s nice to see you too.”

“I love your hair by the way! Purple suits you well.” Gert wondered if Karolina was just saying that just to be nice or if she was genuine.

“Thanks...You’ve gotten taller.” Gert awkwardly pointed out. She wasn’t the best at small talk.

“Yeah! All thanks to my parents.” Karolina jokily made a little jazz hand gesture. “Who’s at the lounge by the way? Is Nico here?”

“No. It’s just me and Molly.” Gert decided to walk back to the lounge.

“Oh, nice. I can’t wait to catch up with Molly after all these months.” Karolina said while following the purple haired girl.

When both girls made it to the lounge, Karolina quickly hugged Molly. Gert noticed Molly’s mood went up a bit, which was good. Hopefully, her sister won’t act too grumpy for the rest of the night. Time passed by and the other teens gradually appeared in the lounge. Alex had been the one to appear last.

“Sorry I was late. I picked up some pizza for the six of us.” Alex greeted the other teens. “I’m glad you guys came.”

“Why are we here exactly, Wilder?” Chase queried with his arms crossed. “You must have your intentions.”

“I thought it was a great idea for us to hang together again, you know?” Alex replied. “Now, do you guys want to eat?”

“We came over for this? If you said you wanted to hang Alex, you could’ve texted all of us.” Molly said. “Besides, today isn’t a good day to hang.”

“Molly, just stay put. You never know, this could cheer you up and take your mind off of things.” Gert remarked.

“Wait, hold on. What does she mean?” Alex pointed out Molly’s discomfort, slightly curious.

“Don’t you dare say anything, Gert!” Molly demanded. 

Gert ignored her sister’s request. She almost debated whether she shouldn’t tell, but decided to spill anyway. “She’s heartbroken about those four Killjoys dying.”

“You mean those four that showed up on the news this morning?” Alex questioned.

Gert nodded in response. Although she hated when Molly was in a bad mood, she didn’t feel it was necessary for Molly to keep sulking around.

“I hate to say this Molly, but they were outlaws and criminals,” Alex stated.

“Excuse me?” Molly stood up from her seat, obviously offended. “What they’ve been doing was brave. They were fighting for a good cause!”

“You do know our parents are the ones that work for BL/ind. Going against BL/ind means going against our parents.”

“Well, my parents aren’t my real parents so…” Molly crossed her arms and glared at Alex.

“Guys, can we please stop arguing? Look, Molly’s mourning and she sounds like she’s having a rough day. Give it a rest, Alex.” Karolina said as she coaxed Molly to sit back on the couch. Molly obliged and Karolina sat next to her.

“I’m just being realistic.” Alex adjusted his glasses. The pizza was still untouched at this point.

“Well, you don’t have to remind us. Let Molly be.” Karolina was rubbing soothing circles on Molly’s back.

“I honestly agree with Molly. You could have just texted us if you wanted to hang out rather than use our parents’ monthly meeting to your advantage.” Chase said.

“Would you guys have replied or even cared to look at my text? We haven’t been together since-”

“ _Don’t_ ,” Nico warned. “Don’t say it.” For a moment, the whole room became silent. That was the first thing Nico has said the entire time the teens got together for the night.

“I thought you weren’t listening to us,” Alex said with a hint of surprise.

Nico smiled meekly. “Oh, I’ve been listening. It’s just that I don’t want to be here as well.”

“Oh, uh okay.” Alex shifted his foot awkwardly. “How about we do something fun like Twister to lift your spirits up?”

“What are we? 12?” Chase replied. “We’re not kids anymore.”

“Well okay. If you don’t want to do that, then let me show you something else.” Alex abandoned the pizza and walked over to a table near the wall. “Maybe this is something that might be on your level of fun.” 

The rest of the teens looked at each other confused at what was to come next. Alex turned a stack of coasters that were on the table. The shelves nearby the door parted, revealing a doorway.

“You guys can go on without me. I’ll just stay here and wait until you come back.” Molly was heading to take a seat on the couch again until Gert stopped her.

“No, Mols. You’re coming with us.” Gert held her hand. “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

Molly sighed and let Gert lead her further in the secret passageway. The teens walked inside with Alex leading the group. They were close to each other in case something happened. There was a room at the end of the passageway. Once the teens reached the end, they looked around the room.

“What is all this?” Nico stared at the room in bewilderment.

“I’m not entirely sure. I discovered the secret passageway earlier today, but didn’t see what was inside.” Alex wondered out loud. A bunch of spread out papers near him caught his eye. “And what are these?”

The teens gathered around the table Alex was standing near. There were a bunch of documents littered all over the table. The documents contained photos of people that looked like their age. What was unsettling was that their photos had been crossed off. All of the photos that were crossed off were listed as exterminated in bold.

Gert took one of the documents and scanned it. “This is currently striking high on the disturbing meter,” Gert commented worriedly. “Does exterminated mean killed?”

“Sounds like it,” Nico said before noticing something off. “My mom’s purse is in here. Where could she be?”

“If these documents are here, then I don’t think our parents have been doing any good for the city.” Chase looked at the others. “I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad was a cold-blooded killer.”

The teens heard footsteps echoing below them. All of their eyes widened. They scrambled to look for hiding spots. Luckily, they found a secret room that has a window overlooking the bigger room outside.

“Bring the girl in. We don’t have all day to do this.” Tina grumbled.

Leslie entered the vast space with a teenage girl beside her.

“Wait a minute. I know that girl.” Karolina said.

“You know her?” Alex turned to the blonde.

“Yeah, she’s a part of the church. What’s she doing here?”

“Leslie, where am I? Who are these people?” The girl looked at the teens’ parents frantically. “I don’t recognize them from the church.”

“It’s okay, Destiny. They’re helping me with the initiation.” Leslie assured. She gave a bottle to Destiny that contained an unknown liquid. “Here, drink this.”

Destiny nodded, trusting the church head. How could she say no to her anyway? She took the bottle in her hands and took a sip. Destiny immediately almost dropped the bottle after she finished, but Geoffrey caught it.

Destiny held her head. “I don’t feel so good. What was in that drink?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” Leslie ignored her question. She rubbed Destiny’s back before turning to Victor. “Are we ready, Victor?”

“As always. We never run out of masks.” Victor noted confidently. He hands a Draculoid mask to Geoffrey.

Destiny was trembling. Leslie was still comforting the girl. “Just hold still. It will all be over soon.”

Geoffrey swiftly pulled the mask on Destiny. She tried to resist, but Leslie was holding her still. As soon as the mask was completely on Destiny, she screamed.

“Wait maybe you shouldn't see this, Mols.” Gert reaches to cover Molly’s eyes.

Molly moved Gert’s hand away from her. “I deserve to know what’s going on!” When Molly stole a glimpse of what happened to Destiny, she almost screamed. Gert reached to cover her adoptive sister’s mouth. She looked at the other teens. They also adopted a look of horror on their face.

“Did you hear that?” Geoffrey looked around the area suspiciously. “I heard something.”

They looked at the window that overlooked where the parents stood. There was nobody there.

* * *

“Your foot is not in the right place!”

“Get off of me!”

“You’re cheating!”

Those were the things Alex’s parents heard coming from the lounge. Catherine greeted the teens, “Hey guys. We hope we’re not interrupting you all.”

“Hi, mom! Nah, we’re just playing Twister.” Alex said.

“You guys actually came when things were about to get interesting,” Molly commented.

Alex’s parents nodded. Geoffrey spoke this time, “It looks like you guys are having fun. Your parents will be downstairs when you’re ready to go.” They waved the teens goodbye and left.

The teens watched as Alex’s parents leave. Karolina was the first person to say something. “Did you think they suspected a thing?”

“I sure hope they didn’t. Them finding out is probably the death of us.” Chase commented.

The teens separated from their game of Twister. They stood up, dusting themselves off.

“So what are we going to do, Alex?” Gert asked. “We can’t just stay here and pretend nothing happened.”

“Just act normal when you guys leave with your parents. I’ll text you guys to meet up tomorrow.” Alex told the other teens.

“Where are we meeting up? Somewhere in Battery City?” Molly wondered.

“Our safest bet is to meet in one of our homes,” Alex told the other teens. “Devising a meeting in Battery City is dangerous. The security is very tight there.”

The rest of the teens nodded in agreement. There was no use in disagreeing with each other.

* * *

“Hey, Gert. Have you seen Karolina?” Chase asked Gert who was on her holo. The pair were in the lobby.

“Am I boring you with my appearance already?” Gert automatically replied without looking up from her holo.

“No! That was not what I meant.” Chase defensively said. “It’s an honest question.”

“Unfortunately, no. Is that all you wanted to say to me?”

“Look, I just wanted to know if you knew where she was. Also, I wanted to check up on you and Molly after what we just saw.” Chase explained. “It must be pretty harsh for Molly to experience that.”

“Yeah, but I think she’s alright now. She’s a strong girl.” Gert powered off her holo and looked up at Chase. “And as for me, I’m doing peachy.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.” Chase dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Gert knew he was a little nervous. She heard his mom call for him. “Well, looks like I gotta go. It was nice seeing you, Gert.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Gert watched Chase exit the house with his parents. She didn’t bother giving her childhood crush a smile.

She stood there until Molly showed up. She couldn’t believe Chase actually had the guts to try to talk to her. Maybe Alex getting the gang back together wasn’t so bad after all.

* * *

“Hey, Karolina. You alright?” Nico politely asked the blonde. The two girls were outside of the house. “I noticed you’ve been quiet before we parted from the lounge.”

“Uh yeah. I guess I’m fine? I’m not entirely sure if what we saw back there was real.” Karolina rambled. “Like my mom is the head of a church. There’s no way she would act that way.”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing. I wouldn’t think my parents would be like that.” Nico says. “But I guess we can figure this out together?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Karolina smiles at the goth. “You know, I don’t think I have your number on my holo.”

“Oh, hand it over. I’ll type it in.”

Karolina handed her holo towards Nico. “Thanks. I think it’s for the best you know. After everything that happened tonight.”

“Yeah, I thought Alex couldn’t get any weirder.” Nico handed the holo back to the blonde. Their hands touched a little in the process.

Karolina’s mother had pulled up to the curb near the Wilders’ home. Karolina said, “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, tomorrow.” Nico smiled a little. She watched Karolina open the car door and hopped into the front passenger seat of her mother’s car. The blonde waved at Nico goodbye and she waved back. Nico looked back at her holo and smiled at the recently added number.


	2. Run if you Can't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I was originally going to post this chapter shortly after the first one, but I was busy with college and I ran into trouble with writing it. This chapter may be a little wonky and I apologize for that. Chapter title was inspired by Isombard by Declan McKenna. Go give it a listen if you want. Hopefully you guys have been doing well and healthy btw.

“Soo, what are we thinking?” Chase said through a mouthful of pizza.

The teens were back at Alex’s house. Alex thought it was the safest place they could meet (despite the weird secret passageway). Their parents were pleased to hear that the teens wanted to “rebond” after being apart for some time. They decided to stick to the lounge they were hanging around last night. The teens were eating the pizza that was untouched last night.

“Could you please speak when your mouth isn’t full of food?” Gert glared at Chase. “It’s disgusting.”

“Sorry, I can’t help that I have an appetite right now,” Chase said after gulping down some soda. Gert rolled her eyes at his response.

“What was all of that we’ve seen back in that room? And what happened to Destiny?” Karolina said as she placed her soda on the coffee table.

“Well, I did a little research after you guys left.” Alex took out his holo and tapped all over its screen. He laid the holo on his lap and a bunch of holograms appeared in front of the teens’ eyes. “It turns out that our parents we’re converting Destiny into a Drac.”

“That’s how they convert Dracs? I thought they did it through some sort of school?” Chase spoke up.

“Yeah, I thought so too. But we were wrong about that. It looks like our parents and possibly BL/ind lied to us on how Draculoids are recruited.” Alex said as he stared at the holograms.

“Are you really sure about that?” Karolina questioned. “How are you able to know that?”

“I recognized that the mask our parents put on Destiny was a Draculoid mask,” Alex said. “So I hacked into BL/ind’s database and looked into their Draculoid program.”

“So, what does this mean for our parents? Are our parents evil or something?” Gert asked while picking at her pizza.

“By kidnapping someone out of their will and recruiting them to a merciless group of law enforcement? Yes.”

“Holy shit. So what happened to Destiny?” Chase said.

“Well, when one gets converted to a Drac, they lose all their memories and personality. So they basically lose their identity and become machines to BL/ind in a way. Following orders with zero resistance.”

“So that means Destiny is gone?” Molly says.

“I’m afraid so.” Alex sadly notes.

The teens were silent for a moment. Could their parents really have murdered that girl? It seemed a bit odd for them to act that way.

“Anyways, what remains now is our next actions,” Alex said, changing the topic. “How are we going to respond to this? Any suggestions?” He glanced at the rest of the teens, waiting for a response.

“Wait, you can’t just quickly dismiss a topic like that!” Karolina spoke up. “Has it dwell on to you that there’s a possibility our parents aren’t murderers?”

“I think Karolina makes a good point. What if they’ve only been doing this recently?” Nico says.

“Our parents have probably been doing this for their whole life now and it’s their job. I don’t think they can be persuaded easily. Once you kill, it never stops.” Alex reasoned as he switched his holo off.

“My mom leads a church and you’re telling me she’s somehow a murderer? I don’t trust what you’re telling me.” Karolina defended her stance before asking the rest of the teens. “Do the rest of you guys think there’s a chance they couldn’t be murderers?”

“Look, I understand how you’re feeling, but the evidence says otherwise. If you knew Destiny was still alive, then maybe you should contact her.” Alex calmly says.

Karolina crosses her arms. “Is this how you felt when Amy died? Just shrugging it off as if it was nothing?”

“I didn’t mean that-”

“Look, Karolina,” Gert interjected. “I think all of us in this room know how you feel, but maybe just hear what else we have to say about the situation?”

Karolina was silent for a moment and then sighed, “fine.” She relaxed in her seat, feeling defeated.

“Like what I was saying before,” Alex started where he left off. “Does anyone have any idea on how we should respond to this?”

“Well, we obviously cannot have a conversation with our parents and go to BL/ind directly. No matter which group we go to, we’re going to be dead to do so.” Chase said after finishing his last slice of pizza.

“Looks like we’ve reached a dead end,” Nico commented unenthusiastically.

The teens sat there in silence for a moment, trying to search for a reasonable plan. But unfortunately, they couldn’t come up with one. Molly, on the other hand, spoke up.

“What if we just ran away?” The words came out of Molly’s mouth suddenly without any thought. “If we try to turn in our parents, what gives them a reason to not let us go? Not only that but what happens if they make us put on the mask? I think it’s worth a try to leave.”

“Run away? Molly, are you crazy?” Gert was stunned at her sister’s response. “Have you completely lost your mind? Where are we even going to go? ”

“Well, what else can we do?” Molly retorted. “Pretend everything is fine and we’re not living with a bunch of murderers?”

“I think Molly makes a valid point. Running away doesn’t sound too bad.” Alex cuts in. “Our options are very limited anyway.”

“Okay, I get you guys want to run away from the problem. But we need to think realistically.” Gert says, redirecting the group’s focus to the issue at hand. “There’s not much out there in the zones and the pollution there is out of hand.”

“How would you know that?” Molly fired back. “And besides, I have a friend who knows her way in the zones and it's not like what BL/ind says it is.”

“Oh, really? Is she an invisible friend of yours?” Gert commented sarcastically.

“I’m serious, Gert!” Molly exclaimed. “This is an opportunity! You could do whatever you wanted. And I know how you’ve always wanted to be free, especially from the system we are under now.”

Gert averted her eyes from Molly. “This is different though. Our lives are at stake right now.”

Molly’s gaze at her sister hardened. “How is it any different though?”

“Running away doesn’t solve anything. It worsens the problem at hand.” Gert contended.

“Enough,” Alex commanded. “Why don’t we all take a vote instead? In that way, it’s fair?”

The sisters decided to agree to what Alex said without another word. As for the rest of the teens, they felt a bit awkward and at a loss for words to stop the two sisters from fighting.

“Who wants to stay here and work something out?” Alex asks.

Gert and Karolina raised their hands. They were shocked when they realized it was the two of them who wanted to stay.

“Okay, and who wants to run away?” By the time Alex was finished asking, the rest of the group raised their hands.

Alex grabbed his holo and began to tap on it. “Guess that ends our meeting. Pack up and tell your parents that we decided to do some rebonding for the weekend.”

“You guys aren’t serious, right?” Karolina felt her voice break, astounded at the rest of the teens’ response. “Do you guys really think that our parents are really murderers?”

“Karolina, we can discuss this later. But right now, we need a plan of action and it was a fair vote.” Alex reasoned as he tapped more onto his holo.

The blonde was going to reply but stopped herself from letting any more words come out from her mouth. Instead, she stormed out of the guest room with her stuff.

Alex was about to go after Karolina, but Nico stopped him. “Let me handle her. You’ve done enough damage already.”

The rest of the teens agreed, letting Nico leave. But deep down, they can’t help but admit they were all feeling the same emotion, fear. Could they manage to pull this plan off? Or will they fail in the process? There was after all only one way to find out if this plan worked.

\--------

The city was bustling with life as usual. Some were going home while others were going out and mingling about in the streets. At the same time, rarely people would take notice of each other. It was like acting a certain way could get you questioned and arrested. Molly hated that. This was one of the reasons why she hated going outside. However, there were more reasons that begged her to go outside. As she passed by an intersection, she saw a billboard that said, “have you taken your pills today?” Molly rolled her eyes at this. Those pills. That single phrase made her want to gag badly. They were another reason why she hated going out. The pills dictated your life. It also stripped you away from your identity. Molly wondered how other people managed to survive to live the way BL/ind commanded them to. That didn’t sit right with her, especially when it came to her adoptive sister.

But as she kept walking, all of those angry thoughts disappeared when she saw a metallic body and dark hair wrapped up in a bun.

“Hey, Xavin!” Her face lit up when she spotted the android.

Xavin smiled as soon as she saw Molly. She jogged towards the teen. “Hey! Are up for our weekly graffiti session?”

“You bet.” Molly’s smile became bigger. Xavin was Molly’s only best friend in the city. Without her, she would probably end up lost in the meandering city. 

The duo sneakily moved into the outskirts of the city, making sure no one followed them. They also made sure there were no Dracs in sight before setting up their supplies for their graffiti.

Xavin was the first to grab a can of spray paint and shook it. “Got any ideas for the mural?”

A phrase had quickly popped into Molly’s head. “Yeah. Can I take the lead?” The android nodded and handed her the can.

It didn’t take long for Molly to begin painting. The can of spray paint in her hand danced around the wall. Eye-popping colors were splattered all over the concrete wall begging to be filled with such life. Molly held on to the phrase she thought about, forcing it to stay in her mind as she painted. When she was finished painting, she noticed Xavin had given her space. It dawned on to the curly-haired girl that the android gave her the whole wall to release her creativity.

“It’s beautiful.” Xavin smiled like a proud mother. “It’s a good phrase.”

The phrase, “keep running” was plastered on the wall in bright and mismatching colors.

Molly beamed at her compliment. “You know, you could’ve helped me out. It would’ve been nice.”

“I know, but I’ve noticed you’ve been feeling under the weather lately,” Xavin says as she directs her attention toward Molly and away from the colorful wall. “This is therapy to you, Mols. I can’t interrupt something like that.”

Molly bit her lip a bit. Xavin had seen through her well. Out here in this part of the city, Molly felt at peace. She could be whatever she wanted to be without being watched and judged. Molly could also tell anything to Xavin. You could say the android was like a sister to her.

“Hey, Xav. I wanted to ask you a question. Be honest with me.” Molly moved closer to the android. “Have you ever wanted to leave the city?”

“Leaving has crossed my mind, but I decided against it. Why do you ask?”

“It’s because I’m leaving tomorrow. And I want to take you with me.” Molly says, hoping the android will accept her offer.

“It’s way too dangerous out there, Mols.” Xavin placed both of her metallic hands on Molly’s shoulders. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Molly pouted. “I’m tougher than I look. And besides, I’m not the only one who’s leaving. My sister and childhood friends are.”

“But why? I know how bad it can be here and how you’ve always wanted to go to the zones, but you have a perfectly good life. Don’t throw it away.” Molly had to admit she felt bad for worrying Xavin. But this was something that had to be done.

“I’m leaving because my friends and I made a discovery last night. Turns out our parents have been involved with the Drac recruitment program.”

All of Xavin’s calm demeanor disappeared at the mention of this. “You seriously don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

“I don’t care what’s at stake!” Molly exclaimed. “And besides, it’s not like Dale and Stacey will listen to me anyway. There’s no place for me in the city after my real parents died.”

“Look, I don’t want you to get hurt. The zones can be really mean out there.” Xavin insisted.

“Look who’s talking! These jerks in the city treat you like garbage and can’t fix you!”

Xavin retracted out of shock. She frowned, thinking over her next choice of words. “Please, you don’t have to do this. There has to be another way.”

Molly softened the tone of her voice. “I’m willing to take that chance, Xav. I can take care of myself, and besides, I have people that can look out for me now.”

Xavin became silent this time around. Molly couldn’t help but feel remorseful. “I know you’ve been stuck here trying to get a new battery. But maybe there’s someone out there that can fix you compared to these jerks in the city.”

Xavin thought for a moment and looked at the sun that was about to set. “I understand your intentions, but I’m sorry Mols. I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

Molly deflated. She had a feeling Xavin wouldn’t risk it. After all, Xavin liked to keep things orderly. Molly recalled something the android said a long time ago about chaos lurking in the zones, but still, that didn’t faze her. “I understand, Xav. I guess this is goodbye.”

“Before you go, stay here for a bit and watch the sunset with me?” Xavin looked back at Molly and gave her a small smile.

Molly nodded. She couldn’t turn down an offer like that. Even if she was upset at her best friend, this was something she would never say no to. Watching the sunset was one of Molly’s favorite things to do, especially with the android. There was something so peaceful and serene with the activity compared to the ever-changing city.

As the pair watched the sunset in silence, the curly-haired girl decided to give a hug to the android, wrapping her arms in a tight embrace around them. The android was a little shocked at the sudden action but hugged back anyway. It broke Molly’s heart that they didn’t want to come. She knew how badly people treated the android in the city and how not many people showed much sympathy for them. To many citizens, Xavin was just another pile of garbage, slowly decaying to eventually end up in a garbage bin somewhere.

“I’m going to miss you a lot, Mols. Be safe out there.” Xavin replies, patting the curly-haired girl’s back.

“Thanks for everything you’ve done and always being there for me,” Molly said as she pulled away from the hug. She gave one last smile at the android. “I do hope you’ll get your battery replaced soon somehow.”

“Don’t worry too much for me. I’ll be fine.” Xavin shrugged the topic off. “Now go prove you're the fiercest Killjoy you can be.”

Molly nodded and grabbed her stuff. Before she walked away from the android, she gave one last wave at them. Xavin reciprocates the gesture, smiling sadly at the curly-haired girl. Molly faced towards the path back home for one last time. For Molly, the android was another reason she wanted to fight BL/ind. And fight hard she will.


End file.
